Niomos
Niomos is a fringe-world located in the Kemper Cluster. Originally uninhabitable, the Velconum Empire decided to terraform it and use it as a War-World in order to establish a stronghold in the cluster that would be used to monitor and eventually eliminate the Strebosian Rebels. However, the rebels struck before the preparations were complete. Officially, Niomos is now deserted, but the rebels have transformed it into their own stronghold. History Niomos was terraformed by the Velconum Empire in 3002 when Emperor Lin began to believe that the Strebosian Rebels were becoming an 'annoyance' to the Empire's agenda in the Kemper Cluster. Following the terraforming, the Empire began establishing military bases on the surface with the intent of making Niomos a War-World. The project was headed by General Eisenberg, who kept it a secret. The general opted to post only a small but elite taskforce in orbit of Niomos. This taskforce was headed by the famed battleship VSS Augustus, under the command of Velconi hero Commodore Hathaway. Despite the secrecy, the rebels discovered the Empire's work on Niomos and spread the information to the Irin Republic. The Republic knew that if Niomos became a War-World, the Empire would have absolute control over the nearby region of space, threatening Irini interests in and beyond the fringe-worlds. The Republic thus agreed to discreetly fund the rebels. In early 3005, the rebels made their move. A team assassinated General Eisenberg and two high ranking officers as they were inspecting a facility on the surface. Only ten minutes later, rebel infiltrators posing as engineers sabotaged the engines of the Augustus, taking out the ship and its captain in a massive explosion. Another group of rebels attempted to overload a fusion reactor in a military base but failed. Nevertheless, the leadership was shattered and the Velconi forces in disarray. When a mercenary fleet composed primarily of Kynzghai pirates showed up in the system, the Empire quickly fled, carelessly leaving many valuable pieces of technology behind in the chaos. The Velconi were furious at being driven off the planet. Though they were unable to prove any Irini involvement, this was one of the incidents that caused the second Irin-Velconum war to begin later that year. Too busy fighting the Republic, the Velconi did not retake Niomos, leaving it abandoned. When the war ended, the treaty forbode the Empire from establishing a War-World in that region. The rebels took advantage of this and salvaged the technology that the Velconi left. They built their own bases on Niomos and turned it into a valuable asset. Environment Being close to the sun, Niomos is unbearably hot, with only the poles suitable for human habitation. Before the Velconi terraformed it, the atmosphere contained a large amount of sulfur dioxide and barely any oxygen. The local life consisted solely of microscopic organisms. The only surface water is erupted by geysers, which are quite common on the planet. Even after terraforming, the only way to harvest water on Niomos was from underground, from geysers, or by collecting water vapour in the air. Niomos is very similar to Primal, but with less volcanic activity. The harsh climate and rather remote location of both these worlds were the reasons they were chosen to be War-Worlds. Due to the surface temperature, the Strebosian Rebels often refer to it as 'Hell Base.' Category:Planets